Have you ever found yourself reading a book and you were so captivated by it that you could not put it down? Have there been times when you picked up a book started reading it and wanted to know why anybody would publish such trash? It’s about the story.

There are mediocre books, good books, and awesome books. Awesome books are the ones you want to add to your library and read them over and over again. You highlight sentences and paragraphs, you bookmark favorite passages, you recommend it to others. Why? Because you love the book.

Your life is a story.

Like books, your story can be either a mediocre one or a really amazing one. What determines the difference? Well, it has a lot to do with who the author is.

If you write your story, you are the main character. It is all about you. You write about your likes, passions, dreams, desires, dislikes, struggles, and you avoid talking about the things that you really do not like about yourself. If you are the author, you do not intentionally lie but you do not reveal the whole truth. There are aspects to the main character that you would rather remain hidden. Let’s face it. Your story apart from Jesus, is not really that great. It is lackluster, mediocre, clearance shelf material at best. There are already too many stories that are written where the main character is prideful, selfish, self-indulgent, lazy, complacent, stagnant….you get the idea.

We don’t need another author who is drunk on themselves and wallows in their drunkenness.

What you need is to not write the story yourself but let somebody else write your story.

It is no secret that God wrote a book. God is the author of the Bible. The Creator of the universe, time, and history wrote the Bible.

When God writes your story, the story is not about you. You are not the main character. Jesus is. Your story is just part of a far bigger and better story.

When God writes your story, it is not about your likes, it is not about your passions, dreams, desires etc. It becomes about you were redeemed by Jesus and He is changing you to conform to His image and in this journey, you are not who you used to be. You have been made new. You are becoming who Jesus made you to be.

Your story will be a greater if you take a step back. Put the pen down and just walk away. Let God write your story. There will be times of joy and sadness. There will be times of celebration and discipline. There will be times of rejoicing at an accomplished goal and there will be times of uncertainty and suspense. It becomes everything a good story is supposed to be.

When God writes your story, the story will be far greater than you could ever possibly imagine.

When it comes to helping people live the Christian life, guilt is not the best motivator. I believe that we should feel a true sense of shame and guilt because we have all sinned against a holy and righteous God. The only thing that can remove this shame and guilt is being covered by the precious blood of Jesus, an act known as salvation. However, too many people in the church today are being guilt-tripped into reading their Bible, serving, going to church, and tithing.

The congregation in our churches can only be guilted into something a few times and then guilt is no longer a way to accomplish anything. Tithing is probably the best example that one can use to explain guilt. Most pastors will use Malachi 3:8 -10 for it says, “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”[1] Usually in this circumstance, these verses are read, the congregation feels guilty and then next Sunday a really nice offering is given. Then a few Sundays later, the amount in the offering plate goes back down because the guilt has worn off of the people in the congregation. This is a sad way to handle the subject of tithing and giving. Guilt is the wrong motivator even if it works. The people in our churches need to know that if they withhold their offering from God, that God does see them as thieves. However, they need to know that God is also a God of grace and mercy and there is forgiveness where there is repentance.

A pastor needs to realize that he is addressing the Body of Christ. These people are made in the image of God. Instead of guilting people into giving or tithing, there is another route that should be taken. People feel guilty enough when they sin, or do not read the Bible, or they miss church. People need to know that God desires to bless them and give them the abundant life that Jesus talked about if they seek Him with their whole being. Christians should be joyful not shameful. There is no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus.

Pastors should show their congregation that the Christian life is not a bunch of rules and regulations. Jesus gave us only two commandments. Matthew 22:37-39 says, “And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”[2] Pastors do not need to guilt their congregations into tithing. They need to show the congregation how to fall in love with God all over again. Seek God! Fear God! Respect God! The congregation needs to learn how to find all their passion, desire, meaning, purpose, identity, hope, and security in God and God alone. When the congregation gets this, true life change takes place.

God does not guilt his people into anything. God wants his people to come to him with the right heart and the right motives. When people fall truly in love with God, they will do things out of their passion and desire for God not because the man behind the pulpit guilt-tripped them into it. Pray that God’s people will long for him the way a deer longs for streams of water. Maybe then, a revival like we have never seen will flood our communities, states, country and spread to the world.

[1] Unless otherwise noted, the ESV version of the Bible will be used.

It is easy to understand where a non-Christian could end up in a situation of stress, anxiety, suicide or depression. It is hard to understand how a Christian also could end up in the same type situation. How is it that a person could have a life changing experience with God and then just disregard God altogether? Why must people constantly seek pleasure, purpose, meaning, security and desire in things other than a glorious, almighty, holy God?

It has occurred to me that I was once one of those people.

I had a life changing experience and yet did not seek God for my own. I chose to seek after things that would only provide temporary satisfaction instead of God. It makes me sorrowful to realize the time that was wasted seeking things that must have grieved my heavenly Father. I even tried to put my calling on hold after God called me to be a pastor. God shut every door that I was seeking until I surrendered to the path that God had chosen for me. Praise God for His faithfulness to us as He lovingly “shuts doors” for our good and His glory!

People try to find their identity in everything from goals they set, to relationships, to jobs, to whatever seems to bring them satisfaction for the moment. When identity or security is threatened, people respond by shutting down, lying, becoming angry, or some type of reaction that is a result of the internal problems that are brewing.

These people need to be led to the cross of Jesus Christ. These people need to know that Jesus can free them from thinking wrongly about how they view life or themselves. Circumstances, failure, and other problems lead people to become frustrated and anxious. Guilt, bitterness, anger, and fear are unhealthy emotions that can build up inside of people that have been painfully scarred. Conversations need to take place to get to the root of these unhealthy emotions. A listening ear could provide the outlet in which these people open a waterfall of emotions and memories that they have never expressed before. There is no pill, surgery, self-help book, DVD, or magic spell that can take away the years of hurt and pain built up inside of these people.

The love of Jesus Christ is the only thing that can help these people to see that they do not have to remain in bondage to their emotions. The problems they struggle with on a consistent basis can be gone. For some people change is immediate. For some, change is a process.

Proverbs says that a friend is closer than a brother. It is times like these that these people need that friend. They need someone to love them through and to show them the love of Jesus and pray grace and mercy over their life. They need to know that they have not lost hope, it has just been misplaced. They need to see that Jesus is all the hope they need. There is a light at the end of their tunnel, a way out of their valley, and it comes in the form of the person of Jesus Christ.

Like this:

Yes. Stealing. We are not talking about stealing as in running into a store and taking stuff that never belonged to you. Think of stealing as in stealing second base.

The odds of you having an original idea is probably slim to none. In fact, it is not really about how many people have the idea but who takes the dare to act upon the idea. Lots of people have ideas. Few ever act on them.

What inspires you?

Sometimes as a creative artist, you hit a wall. You hit a writer’s block. You cannot think of the next lyrics to a song you are writing. Now is not the time to quit. You are not a quitter. You do not throw in the towel. You don’t bail when the road gets hard.

You need something that is going to help you focus. You need something to help launch your next painting, blog post, or video. So…steal it.

What have you read lately?

What have you watched?

What song struck an emotion in you?

What restaurant did you really enjoy eating at?

What passage in the Bible brought revelation to you in a way that you had not seen before?

Inspiration can come from anywhere.

You see something in a painting and it triggers something within you to paint.

You read something in a magazine, newspaper, blog, or book and you write.

After you see something, or read something, you decide to steal it. You use it as a launch pad, a diving board to create something new.

You collect your pieces of inspiration, and assemble them all in this collage of art.

Like this:

Procrastination is easier than preparation. That is also completely backwards of getting anything done. However, we all have things that we put off because we think in the back of our minds that it can wait till later.

Think about it. We all have said things such as:

I will take that bill to the post office tomorrow.

I will wash the dishes before bed – then you go to sleep and wake up and they are still in the dishwasher.

I will fold the laundry tomorrow.

I will write that blog post later.

I will answer that email later.

I will return that phone call later.

Then in some strange Criss Angel way…POOF! Time has escaped you. Once time passes, you can never get it back. If you live always trying to catch up, you will find yourself living in the city of Regret.

Procrastination is never good.

You know you have something that you want to accomplish.

Do it. Just get out there and start on something. Everything you do is preparation for what you ultimately want to accomplish. You cannot get to the dream without taking the baby steps at the beginning.

It is about the process.

The process is what defines you. It is a journey. The process challenges you, changes you, molds you, shapes you. When you get to the dream (the end product) you are never the same person that you were in the beginning. Why? The process.

The process explores the depths of who you are.

You will learn things about yourself by going through the process. Some good. Some not so good. However, you may have never found out any of these things without going through the process.

The process is preparation.

The whole time you are going through the process you are working. You are making your work better. You are refining your art. You are beginning to see yourself in a different way.

Whatever you do, don’t stop.

Don’t stop. Don’t quit. Don’t throw in the towel. Don’t give up.

God is preparing you for what He has prepared for you. When you get to your dream you will be thankful for the process. When you get to the dream, you will be prepared for how to handle it because you were preparing for it during the process.

What is your dream that you are preparing for right now? Share in the comments.

Like this:

No one picks up a spoon one day and instantly becomes a professional chef. No one goes to Target and buys a football and is immediately made into a NFL player. There is something that has to happen for you to become a professional at anything…

Practice.

If you want to be a professional at something, you have to work for it. You have to practice. You have to study. You have to work.

Yes. You will make mistakes. Nothing is ever perfect the first time. Do not let the fear of failure keep you from becoming better. How do you do that? How do you not let yourself become a victim of fear? Practice.

So what if you make mistakes: There are two mistakes that can derail your train. 1. You do not start because you are afraid of even starting (we already talked about this by the way.) 2. You make mistakes and instead of learning from them, you quit to avoid making anymore mistakes.

You do not have to be paralyzed by your mistakes. Instead, learn from them. Make mental notes of what went wrong, correct, and try again.

Practice where people can see you. You have to get your art out there. Your work is not just for you. Remember, God did not give you gifts and talents so that you can be a hoarder. You were meant to share your gifts and talents with the world.

You might be thinking, “Whoa. Wait just a minute.” Why would you think that? Because you know the somebody else sees your work, your art, one of two things are likely to happen.

The first being that people will criticize you. The second being that people will value and appreciate your art. However, you will never know until you put it out there.

You have to go public.

Cook for people.

Play in front of coaches and fans.

Write for a blog or a magazine.

Sing in front of people.

Put the pedal to the metal. Charge in with guns blazing. It is bottom of the ninth with two outs and you are up to bat. What do you do?

Whatever you do….don’t quit.

It is time for you to be better than average, better than normal. It is time for you to be awesome.

Get your art out there for us to see. Practice makes you better. Show the world what you got.

What do you need to practice on so that you can be better than average?

Like this:

One of the best ways of getting over your fear of something is to get off the couch and start.

The world needs your gift. It needs your talent. It needs to know that you care even when no one else does. So what does that look like? Think about this:

For you to keep your gifts and talent all to yourself and use them only for you and not share them with the world is really selfish…isn’t it?

You have to confront that thing. That thing that freezes you from starting. That thing that cripples you. You have to confront it or you will remain a prisoner to it for as long as you let it control you. Confront it. The best way to get over your fear is to start. Your fear will not vanish all in one day. However, starting will begin to show that fear that each day that you wake up and start you become less and less afraid.

You formed habits that caused you to be afraid to start. You have habits that led to decisions that freeze you when you try to start something new. The very thought of change scares you to death.

What is the solution?

Take the initiative. Start.

Form new habits that will push you farther and farther away from your fear. Form these habits so that when you make decisions you will not be terrified of starting.

To initiate something means that you are not waiting on anyone else. You are not going to get a babysitter. You are not going to have somebody hold your hand. You have to take the initiative. You have to start. Nobody is going to start for you.

There is no perfect time to initiate something new.

You just have to do it.

Begin.

Start.

Today.

What is something that God has placed in you and you need to stop being afraid and just start?